Choosing A Racquet......

With as many racquets as there are out there, it is quite hard to decide on which brand and what model to choose from. Different head sizes, racquet thickness, string pattern, etc. will drive you bonkers if you don't have a lot of knowledge on the subject. So, here are a few tips...........

1. Playtest the racquet! There is nothing that I say here that will trump
the playtest. Tennis Warehouse does a great job of lending demoes for
a small fee. I believe that the fee can be put toward the racquet if you
decide to buy it.

2. Racquet Weight. My suggestion is to not go too light. The lighter the
racquet, the less plow through the ball and the less stable the racquet
will be. Of course, that can be taken care of with lead tape, but why
not buy a racquet that is at least close to what it needs to be for you?
Again playtest for the final decision.

3. Racquet Stiffness. The stiffer the racquet, usually the less dwell time
the ball will have on the strings. With that, usually it will have less feel
and not be great for touch. However, it seems to be pretty good for
power. Heavy topspin players tend to choose a medium to flexible
racquet while your flatter hitters tend to choose medium to stiff. Again,
playtest.

4. Racquet Width. This one is not the biggest factor, but I do have a word
of advice. If you tend to hit a heavy topspin shot or use lots of slice,
a thinner beamed racquet will work better for you. Flatter hitting players
can basically use anything they want as the sides of the racquet don't
come into play as much as they would with a heavy topspin hitter whose
racquet has the chance of knicking the ball and causing a mishit. And,
of course, playtest.

5. Headsize. This is strictly your choice. Agassi used oversize and Sampras
used a midsize. Take your pick. You will get more spin with a larger head,
but the feel of a good midsize is hard to beat. For years, I used the Head
Prestige which had a 93 inch head and I hit extremely heavy topspin off of
both sides (one handed backhand). I then went to the mid-plus Pro Tour
280 which I noticed a tremendous increase in power, spin, and sweetspot
size. For beginners and intermediates, I recommend no less than a 95
inch head. Preferably 98 inches and larger for the beginners, but again,
that is your choice.

6. String pattern. A racquet with an 18 main and a 20 cross will be more
control oriented. A racquet with a 16 main and an 18 cross will be more
spin friendly. Again, that will be a personal preference.

Well, I hope that helps a little. There are a lot of great racquets out there and a lot of great companies as well. Just try them out first. If you need any suggestions on a racquet, feel free to shoot me a line. I won't give you a definite "you need to play with this racquet", but I will be more than happy to hear how you play and then give you a few suggestions of racquets to playtest. Again, Tennis Warehouse is great when it comes to that.

A quickie suggestion for those of you who are looking for racquets that are spin friendly. Volkl makes some of the best racquets out there period. I've been with them for quite a while now. My contract went out with them, but I've kept playing with them regardless. They just make excellent racquets. However, make sure you like the shape of the handle. Prince and Wilson lovers may not like the oblong shape of the Head and Volkl racquets' handles.

i may have to give them a shot. right now i use the Liquid Metal Radical by Head (aka. the one Agassi used back in the day). which brings me to a question.. my friend said that the pros don't use the racquets they sponsor.. he said it's just a paint job. do you know if this has any truth? he claims that the use racquets they grew up with from the 80s and 90s.

i may have to give them a shot. right now i use the Liquid Metal Radical by Head (aka. the one Agassi used back in the day). which brings me to a question.. my friend said that the pros don't use the racquets they sponsor.. he said it's just a paint job. do you know if this has any truth? he claims that the use racquets they grew up with from the 80s and 90s.

Umm.. I just wanted to say on thing there.
I highly doubt it that they actually paint the rackets.
I've been to the center where they make rackets for the pros at the Australian Open, located in Rod Laver Arena.
First, they get the racket made at the company then bring it there and get the strings fixed and painted eg.
I think the answer is no.. but Tennisking1 should know better..

Why am I fighting to live, if I'm just living to fight
Why am I trying to see, when there aint nothing in sight
Why am I trying to give, when no one gives me a try
Why am I dying to live, if I'm just living to die?
-Tupac Shakur

i may have to give them a shot. right now i use the Liquid Metal Radical by Head (aka. the one Agassi used back in the day). which brings me to a question.. my friend said that the pros don't use the racquets they sponsor.. he said it's just a paint job. do you know if this has any truth? he claims that the use racquets they grew up with from the 80s and 90s.

They use the sponsor racquets. What I did was have a fellow named Warren Bosworth modify what was sent to me. Lead tape and he could shape the grip the way I liked it. My Volkls all have a grip that is shaped like a Prince grip. He just shaves them to have that shape. The pros actually use the racquets that are sold to the public, they may just get them modified to fit them just right. The only player that I know of that was in question was Courier used a Dunlop made just for him, but everyone thought he was using a Wilson Pro Staff that he had grown up with.

They use the sponsor racquets. What I did was have a fellow named Warren Bosworth modify what was sent to me. Lead tape and he could shape the grip the way I liked it. My Volkls all have a grip that is shaped like a Prince grip. He just shaves them to have that shape. The pros actually use the racquets that are sold to the public, they may just get them modified to fit them just right. The only player that I know of that was in question was Courier used a Dunlop made just for him, but everyone thought he was using a Wilson Pro Staff that he had grown up with.